Eastenders storylines go on way, way too long. Yes I understand they need to go on for a certain length of time to be credible but they go beyond that to the point that they bore me and I start to lose interest. I know in real life rapist do go free and don't get their comeuppance but this is a soap and the pay off for me is someone getting found out The Lucy murder thing is a perfect example, it's dragged on and on and I really don't care about it anymore. Ideally Bobby should be found out as the murderer and sent away for a long time. His stageschool actor really needs to go, and hopefully that would mean Jane going away also for her part in things as she is not the character she once was and I wouldn't miss her.

This.

I thinl dean has become interesting thank tot the storyline bit it has ruined so many characters which seems to be dtcs speciality.

Me too a bit but it is hilarious

And in respect to those who feel Dean is still getting away with it because of his looks, can you by the same merit think it is seemingly ok that Ronnie murdered someone and gets away with it just because he was a horrible character or unattractive? Do you then believe that this sends a message to the world that it's ok to murder people just because they are of poor character or unattractive?

It all sounds very silly doesn't it.

In reality, sadly it's a common occurrence that rapists walk free and if Linda's storyline serves any purpose it should be that she shouldn't have hidden the rape for so long and that there is support out there for victims even when there's little or no evidence.

Really? Elliot is a child himself and still developing but he is a fantastic actor already. By your logic no character on TV shpuld be younger then 25 or given the chance
To prove. Soaps would be cringlily weird wothout children and teens.

I agree.

Actually, I think this storyline sends out the very opposite message: if you get raped don't bother reporting it, because if there's no evidence they'll walk free anyway and no one will believe you.

How could a story about a rapist getting away with it possibly encourage anyone who has been a victim of rape to come forward?

Linda concealed the rape and didn't come forward, many women do this for fear of not being believed or because of shame etc and then feel that later on it is too late to come forward. I felt the way that the police believed in Linda and supported her was positive in this storyline. From another viewpoint maybe the lack of evidence due to Linda not coming forward is a warning to victims to come forward sooner before evidence is destroyed.

Having said this I do believe the storyline was badly presented for a multitude of reasons.

Dean will confesse give it 10 years.

I'm sure the rape storyline was a great idea at the time, now they just want to brush it under the carpet and hope people forget about it because otherwise it would mean losing a Carter and that can't happen. If they are determined to keep Dean on our screens (not sure why, he is played by a mediocre actor at best) then at least have him show some remorse and they need to stop trying to treat the viewers like mugs and stop trying to make us feel sorry for him.

They should've really made Dean Kevin's biological son and kept Mick as Shirley's brother. The latter situation is like a rehash of Kat and Zoe minus an uncle Harry type. Plus it has ruined so much between the two. For the former, Dean had much better chemistry with Kevin than Buster. Plus he would've been one of the few genuine Wicks characters on EE (most of them are Beales).

The rape plot shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Who is this us? And they are not making you feel sorry for Dean, you have your own mind, it really annoys me when people say that, like they havnt got a mind of their own.

But that's not what they are doing. That notion only appears to be in the heads of folks angry that a soap character has not been immediately punished for a rape they saw happen on their tv screen. No matter that there is blatently not enough evidence for a conviction if you follow the storyline. Dean along with Ronnie / Jane are characters nobody should feel sorry for. They've committed major crimes and their original character destroyed by events / actions. Thing is you don't see constant threads and moaning about Ronnie and Jane wanting them gone now. Folks will wait for storylines to roll out.

Many, many rapists walk free and continue to live near their victims. I think this story has been realistic. Even if you can prove someone had sex with you proving rape is sadly difficult especially if it's someone close to you or someone in your social circle. There are people who believe the rapist and by doing so make the victim's life hell. I wish Matt Di Angelo would trim his beard, it's horrible!

The conviction rate for rape is pitiful even with all of the recent improvements to police procedures for dealing with this appalling crime.

Hipster beards are so annoying - young blokes who look they are a bloody Victorian explorer lost in the middle of the Congo.

Having a rapist walk free is realistic, I agree. Sadly this happens all too often in real life.

The real problem I have is the presentation of Dean himself. He raped somebody, yet from the way the character is portrayed now you'd think nothing had ever happened. He isn't tortured by what he's done, he's shown no remorse; it's been almost a year and he is yet to acknowledge that he ever did anything wrong.

We now see Dean running his business, trying to get access to his daughter, mourning the loss of his grandfather etc - as if he is just a normal guy. Dean's character hasn't been affected by his crime at all; he got away with it and the writers just expect the audience to accept and it 'move on' because 'it happens in real life'. So what if it happens in real life? Are we supposed to care about the character now because some rapists never get punished and that's just how it is?

So portraying Dean as this hard done bullied young man who has an ill daughter he knew nothing about, who just lost his grandfather and his nasty big brother refused to let him attend the funeral isn't trying to make people feel sorry for him. If you can't see that then you are naive.

No, I am not naive, as I said, you have you own mind, EE doesnt think for you.

No. As I said that notion only exists in the heads of folks who are angry at character they saw commit rape not being immediately hauled in and jailed. It's projecting their anger onto producers / writers. Making out for some reason that they favour Dean and / or Carters when it is in fact it is a totally realistic storyline done in conjunction with rape charities.

BiB: completely agree. Any time something bad happens to Dean I'm like; "YEAH BITCH, KARMA! HAVE MORE! HAVE IT RIGHT IN THE F**KING EYE YOU RAPIST!"

I never feel sorry for Dean! It's great!

Maybe Vincent will Rough him up soon.

I read Matt's interview on DS and I'm not impressed. To call Dean the villian of the soap now is absolutely laughable. He wouldn't last 5 minutes with the likes of Phil, Ronnie & even dare I say it Vincent. He's a stupid kid wearing a stupid necklace with a stupid bit of scruff on his neck and a serious attitude problem. As for what he said about murderers and what not free on the square, it's not even close to being the same thing. Fact of the matter is Dean raped Linda, he's shown no remorse for it, doesn't even think he's guilty of it & people are treating him now like he just forgot to pay for a pint in the pub.

You do not even contemplate a rape storyline in the world of media unless the rapist is going to be caught and jailed. Now I know IRL that doesn't always happen and it is disgusting and to me one of the great injustices. But that's why when you have a plaform to educate people, you use it to educate. Use it so that a rape victim feels a little less alone and has the courage to report it to the police. It may be too late to get a conviction like it was in Linda's case, but it's still being reported & you're still taking a course of action. I know why Eastenders couldn't show the rape scene and I wouldn't want the actual action shown anywhere. But to an extent the way they filmed it and the build-up to it did leave it open to interpretation. Even people on here were actually asking if Dean had raped Linda, and people on social media were saying she brought it on herself giving him mixed signals. That's the type of stigma that needs to be erased not egged on. If DTC likes Matt, he should never have been given the storyline. DTC promised justice, there's been nothing. Some people on the square believe Linda, some people don't. We had months of going round in circle, Buster & Shirley sometimes doubting Dean all for that to be erased and brushed under the carpet. It really wouldn't have hurt DTC to have Dean go to prison for a couple of months at least. They've filmed inside prison before if he was desperate to hold onto Matt they could've done it again. Because at least if some sort of concrete action was taking against Dean regardless of whether he'd acknowledge what he did was wrong, the audience wouldn't feel so short changed & it would be justice for the storyline. Honestly the only place that handles rape worse than Eastenders is this gen of Hollyoaks. I'm not interested in bad stuff happening to Dean every now and then. I'm not interested in him going up against Ronnie over Roxy. I'm not interested in his sick kid. I'm not interested in anything to do with Dean because he is a rapist.

Where is "hardman" Phil where Roxy and Dean are concerned? It's no secret Dean raped Linda Carter and Ronnie mentioned it to Roxy recently. Surely if Phil is such an old school hardman he'd give Dean a going over and tell him to keep away from Roxy?

Matt has a very high opinion of himself. In several recent interviews he has tried to imply he is now the leading male of the soap which really is laughable and if DTC told him that then its a sign the show is heading into another crisis.

Dean is not seven feet tall and built like a brick outhouse so TPTB will not deem him worthy of being duffed up by Supergrandad.

I disagree, in fact I view all of deans misfortunes as karma for his actions. I revel in seeing him hurt, alone and pushed out. It certainly doesn't make me feel sorry for him. I see it as his just desserts. He deserves much more misery if you ask me but I'm hoping that will come in time. I like the approach the writers have taken, rather than punishing him through the law, which is highly unrealistic in terms of rape conviction rates, they are making him suffer in everyday life.